Sanksjoner uten mål og mening? En empirisk analyse av målrettede sanksjoners effekt russisk energi- og finanssektor

Abstract

In geopolitics economic sanctions have been used by some of the western nations as a response to unwanted political behavior. Sector related sanctions have been applied to Russia after the illegal annexation of Crimea, in 2014. The sanctions were mainly applied by the US and the EU. Major companies in Russia’s defense, financial and energy sectors were affected by these sanctions. In this analysis I will explore the relationship between sector specific sanctions and how they affect multinational corporations though the concept of risk and the use of restrictions. If sector related sanctions are to thoroughly affect the Russian economy, the political ambitions have to be followed by businesses of the sanctioning country. The question I will discuss is therefore: Will multinational companies in USA and EU countries follow the ambition of sanctions and refrain from cooperating with the sanctioned companies? To answer this question, an empirical study has been conducted using data from articles found in the major news source Reuters. Four of the largest companies in the Russian financial and energy sector have been studied; Gazprom and Rosneft, the largest petroleum companies in the country, and Sberbank and VTB, the two largest banks. The articles found discuss the relationship between these companies and major countries contributing to the global economy, over a period of 3 years: from the start of 2015 to the end of 2017. These countries include USA, EU and UN members from the western world, along with countries from Asia and the Middle East, who have proven to be active trade partners with Russia. From the data collected, I found that the sanctions have not stopped European companies from trading and cooperating with the Russian countries, while cooperation with American companies has been very low due to more strict sanctions applied by USA. It can also be seen that the companies have made more deals with countries in Asia and the Middle East. The Russian authorities may have diminished the effect of the sanctions on Russia’s economy, along with the fact that the Russian companies were able to find strong trading partners elsewhere than in Europe and USA.